Female fund managers a rare find

Taylee Lewis

The representation of women in the US fund management industry is strikingly low with only 10 per cent of managers being female and running two per cent of industry assets, according to a Morningstar report.

The Fund Managers by Gender June 2015 report by Morningstar and republished by Plan for Life Actuaries and Researchers found that women exclusively manage 184 funds in the US, running only two per cent of the funds of the $12.6 trillion industry.

According to the report, two per cent equates to approximately 699 female fund managers in comparison to the 6,711 men who manage funds in the US.

“There is still a massive lag in the finance industry both in professional and leadership roles filled by women, but most industries still have a way to go in closing the gender pay and position gap regardless,” Plan for Life stated.

Plan for Life said the authors of the study blame a “leaky talent pipeline” for the poor representation of women in funds management.

There is also a discrepancy within the Australian financial services industry regarding the number of female analysts, as women account for only 18 per cent of the industry.

This is compared to 27 per cent in Hong Kong and 30 per cent in Singapore.

“The female talent pool in finance both here and in the US resembles a small goldfish pond compared to the swimming pools of Singapore and Hong Kong,” the research firm stated.

Plan for Life added that evidence does indicate that female participation is good for business.

Although where women choose to spend their time is changing, gender diversity in business diversity is only gently improving, said Plan for Life.

InvestorDaily